


Blemish

by golden_kimono



Series: DERACINE [3]
Category: Jrock, the GazettE
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fairy Tale Elements, Fantasy, Fem!Ruki, Female Ruki, Future Reituki, Gen, Hermaphrodites, Masturbation, Nonbinary Character, Other, Pre-Relationship, Transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 17:36:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4970098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/golden_kimono/pseuds/golden_kimono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruki can tell her body is transforming, but she doesn't know why or what. Luckily (or not so luckily?), Reita can tell her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blemish

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [hurt/comfort bingo](http://hc-bingo.livejournal.com/) on LJ, prompt: unwanted transformation. This takes place before everything else and shares some of Ruki's background. Ruki isn't a hermaphrodite completely, I guess, but more of a fantasy form of one? I'm using 'she/her' in this fic, because that is what Ruki used back then - an explanation as to why this changed to 'he' will follow in a later story.
> 
> I chose the title only because that song suits this very well.

Ruki brushed her sister’s hair, the two of them seated at the edge of the lake where their friends were swimming and playing. Mei was only little and not allowed in the water yet, not without supervision at least, and Ruki had been burdened with the task to look after her. Not that she truly minded: her sister was sweet, although she’d undoubtedly become cheekier with age.

“How’s Ayame doing?” Ruki asked as she threaded a flower through Mei’s hair. “Have you been up to any mischief lately?” Ayame was Mei’s closest friend, and Ruki knew very well that the two liked to play as close to the edge of their territory as possible. They had snuck across the borders once to explore the rest of the land, but had been found quickly and told about the dangers of the ogres and werewolves that would surely eat them alive (Ruki knew this to be untrue, but if it kept her sister safe, she’d play along). Now they simply peeked through the trees and bushes to see what was on the other side.

“We saw a birdman!” Mei exclaimed excitedly, twisting around to look Ruki in the face, her eyes bright. “He flew, but then he was human!”

Ruki frowned thoughtfully and placed her brush to the side. “A birdman? Do you mean a flying man or was he an actual bird before he took on a human form?”

“A real bird! With red and gold and it was really big!” Mei held her hands apart as far as possible to show Ruki exactly how large the bird had been. “He had a mask and funny hair, but looked a little scary.”

“The bird was wearing a mask?” Ruki asked sceptically, making Mei giggle.

“Noooo! Birdman did!”

That sounded like Reita, one of the last remaining phoenixes in the world and possibly the only one in their land. The first time Ruki had met him, she had barely managed to resist the urge to run in the opposite direction, because Mei wasn’t wrong: he _did_ look slightly eerie. But Ruki’s friend Keiko, who had been with her at the time, was more daring, and she had spoken to him without fear. And Reita had turned out to be incredibly kind and very clever. Ruki still spoke to him on occasion.

Before she could tell Mei not to be scared of him, a stabbing pain ran through her stomach and she doubled over, gasping. It was as though something was ripping its way through her intestines, down to her legs, and she grinded her teeth to keep from crying out, not wanting to worry Mei even more than she most likely already was doing.

“Ruki?” her little sister asked in a shaky voice. “What’s wrong?”

Ruki shook her head and attempted to smile, though her sight was blurry and she couldn’t even tell if she was actually looking at Mei or not. It wasn’t the first time this had happened: recently it had been happening with increasing frequency – and increasing intensity as well, because this had been the worst pain yet.

“Just some cramps,” Ruki replied, her voice strained. “They’ll go away.” If not, she’d approach one of the older nymphs about it. “I’m _fine_ ,” she said firmly when Mei merely stared. “Now, why don’t you tell me a little more about this birdman.”

 

Later that evening, after everyone had dozed off, Ruki snuck off into the forest for some privacy. She stopped at the edge of the lake, still and black in the darkness. After a moment’s hesitation, she removed her garments before wading into the water, creating ripples around her. Goosebumps appeared on her body as she swam towards the waterfall on the other side. Behind it was a cave, which was the only place where Ruki could get the privacy she was looking for.

After swimming through the waterfall, a shivering Ruki pulled herself out of the water and padded over to the back wall. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard, smiling when she reopened her eyes and saw something resembling a mirror, the light of the moon filtering through a gap in the roof of the cave, making it easier for her to see. Her reflection smiled back at her, and Ruki looked herself over curiously.

Her hair was wet and clung to her skin, droplets running down her body, over her nipples, which were hard from the cold. Her hands were splayed over her stomach, but even a careful inspection didn’t show anything odd. It felt the same, and when she turned to the side she saw the slight rounding of her stomach she had always hated, but it was no different from usual either. If anything, it looked thinner. She prodded at the flesh, but there was nothing there now to cause any discomfort.

Swallowing hard, she cupped herself between her legs, her eyes widening when she felt a strong tingling, and not the kind she was used to. She bit her lip as she slid two fingers inside herself, but nothing seemed to be unusual there; it was the same familiar heat as always. However, when she ran her fingers upwards slowly, towards her clit, that was when she felt it. It was swollen, incredibly so, and almost too sensitive to touch. She shuddered as she rubbed her middle finger over it, moaning softly.

Her cheeks flushed and she looked around quickly as if to reassure herself that no one could see her. Hesitating, because this was hardly the time, but it was so hard to resist the sudden heat, she placed her free hand on the wall, the other working between her legs as she breathed heavily, her fingers wet as she gazed at herself in the mirror. It took a shockingly short time for her mouth to fall open and her legs to tremble, a long moan rising up from the back of her throat as she pressed down on her clit. Her head fell forward, nails scratching at the wall as she climaxed.

Once she had composed herself, she straightened back up, the sight of her glistening fingers making her feel incredibly embarrassed. This certainly hadn’t been what she had expected to happen tonight, and as good as it had felt, it had really only raised more questions. At least she seemed to have found the core of her problem, but it wasn’t exactly something she could discuss with anyone, let alone show them. Well, she probably could, but she didn’t want to.

Ruki slipped back into the water, leaving the cave dark and mirror-free once more, and decided to return home; she’d simply keep an eye on things. Perhaps nymphs had a variation of being in heat, and although she’d never heard of such a thing, it put her mind at ease. Dry and dressed, she fell asleep between Mei and their mother soon after.

 

Over the next few days, Ruki noticed, much to her dismay, that she was not getting any better. Granted, the pain was subsiding, but her stomach felt weird a lot of the time and her clitoris had only grown more sensitive – and grown in general. She was in a constant state of anxiety, because something was definitely wrong with her body, but she didn’t know who to talk to about it. She had hinted at heat cycles to her mother, who had scoffed and told her she knew better than that: there was no need for it, since nymphs reproduced without sexual contact. This was quite the opposite of comforting, though.

In an effort to be alone for a bit, without needing to hide or pretend, Ruki had offered to gather some of the fruits that grew in the woods across the border. The tingling between her legs was getting harder and harder to ignore, but she refused to give in to touching herself again any time soon. Apart from the possibility of getting caught, she was honestly terrified of what she might encounter down there. Hissing in discomfort, Ruki leaned against an apple tree, trying to contain her distress.

“Are you okay?”

Ruki lifted her head, recognising Reita’s voice and forcing a smile when she saw him. “Yes, thank you. Tired, that’s all.”

Reita frowned and tilted his head as he gazed at her intently. “You’re lying.”

It wasn’t an accusation, merely a statement, yet it made Ruki unable to look at him any longer. She swallowed hard and pressed a hand to her lower stomach when she felt another tingle. “I… I think someone’s wrong with me,” she whispered, feeling on the verge of tears.

She watched apprehensively as Reita moved closer to her and she pressed herself against the tree firmly. She almost wished she hadn’t said anything, but Reita had a calming aura and she was scared enough that she hadn’t been able to lie any longer.

“Why?”

Ruki blinked and furrowed her eyebrows, momentarily so surprised by Reita’s question that she forgot her discomfort. “I just…” She looked into Reita’s eyes, which were kind and curious, and felt strangely compelled to confess her problems, because he didn’t seem to be the type to judge or be disgusted. “I’m going through some changes,” she explained slowly, Reita nodding to show he was listening. “My body is. It’s…” She forced a laugh. “It’s weird, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be bothering you with this.”

“You’re not bothering me, I asked,” Reita said simply. When Ruki didn’t continue, he leaned his back against another tree and crossed his arms. “Not all nymphs are female.”

Ruki raised her eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“Some of them are both male and female,” Reita elaborated. “They all have breasts and a vagina, but sometimes they have two sets of genitalia. It is rare and usually doesn’t show itself until later on in life. It’s not something anyone ever talks about, and most creatures outside the nymphs don’t even know. I only know because I have seen it before, a few times.”

As strange as the conversation was, Ruki had to admit she was intrigued. “Why are you telling me this?” she asked softly, staring at Reita’s masked face from under her lashes. To her surprise, Reita averted his eyes, looking almost shy.

“I sometimes rest in the cave in your territory after night falls.”

After a moment’s confusion, Ruki’s eyes widened and her cheeks flushed when she realised what Reita was implying, feeling utterly humiliated and angrier than she could put into words. “You watched me?!”

Reita shuffled away and turned his head to the side when Ruki moved forward, the phoenix appearing almost scared. “I didn’t mean to. And I didn’t look the entire time.”

“Oh, because that makes it alright?” Ruki snapped, hardly daring to believe she had ever thought him a good man.

“I’m sorry,” Reita said earnestly, his eyes almost pleading with her. “I woke up once you were already there and I saw… I saw you. I flew out soon after. It wasn’t on purpose.”

Ruki pressed her lips together tightly. She vaguely remembered one of her friends telling her that Reita occasionally entered their land – but only in bird form, as no men were allowed. Still, she couldn’t believe this had happened. At least he had left and he didn’t seem to have done it intentionally, though she wasn’t ready to forgive him just yet, too embarrassed.

Taking a deep breath, she decided she could at least use him for information if nothing else. And so, forcing her voice to be steady and calm, she asked: “What happens to the nymphs who go through this?”

“Typically, they are shunned,” Reita replied, seemingly eager to change the topic. It was almost funny how someone who had been around as long as he had could be made uncomfortable by this. “They are more powerful than the other nymphs and are welcomed by other creatures, although I don’t believe they ever reveal the true reason they left their territory. Otherwise, their lives are much the same.”

Shunned. Knowing that there was an explanation of sorts for what she was going through made Ruki feel better, but the idea of being shunned was worse than anything she could have imagined. Would she have to leave Mei behind, her mother, her friends? It seemed impossible to picture a life without them, a life where she’d be on her own, trying to somehow make things work with other creatures, creatures she had always avoided.

She stepped up to Reita and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look into her eyes.

“If you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will make sure you’re never reborn again,” she stated coldly.

“I’ll never tell,” Reita promised solemnly, his eyes showing the truth to this statement.

Ruki stepped back and nodded, satisfied. “Now leave.”

Reita hesitated for a moment, but he seemed to know to pick his battles. He offered her a short bow before transforming into his phoenix form and flying off.

Ruki sighed and rubbed her temples, wondering how on earth she was going to handle this new information. However, as she continued gathering fruits, she realised there was really only one way she could make it through this: she’d have to keep it a secret.


End file.
